Ben & Co: make me dream, entertain me

[Gothard]

Let's hope it does not grow into a 10 page epic.

I would like to ask the good people hosting us to make us dream again:

Please start and maintain a thread/ threads about chosen single exemplaries your leading models, as they develop from a drawing to its building, through its assembly, delivery and ultimately its thorough use.

I for one would love to see this done with a Pavé version, or (gasp!) a full Ti Legend.
make the thread update-able only to those who build the bike, who own it and ride it, and keep it sticky, with cross-references to the non-forum Serotta site. I am sure there are would-be owners who can do that, even employees. Throw in an incentive for a would be candidate to keep the thread alive.
Only caveats: the bike MUST be ridden and financially reachable, not pampered, and don't wax lyric over a 15K space shuttle...

This will:

-Enlighten us only-forum-goers to the catalog pages of the site, which I for one never visit

-Make us more aware of what can be done with a Serotta, which is more than an unreachable fragile gem.

-Hopefully ignite some passion for the models that will constitute th e2012 linetup.

I'll get off my church pew and hope someone in the offices reads this.

[thwart]

Sounds like a good idea... certainly there have been others offered up here as well.

Right now the Forum generates a vague positive image for Serotta (kind of a... 'hey, they're sponsoring this discussion, so they must be good folks' sorta thing).

Certainly could be a better marketing tool.

Hopefully without going over the top.

[rounder]

I love my (Serotta) bikes. I would love to hear someone from Serotta stand up and say and go on to describe...this is what we believe in, on the Serotta forum. For me, this is what is missing.

[Louis]

I agree that Serotta doesn't do EPIC as well as another outfit that will not be named. But to be completely honest about it, if that were their shtick, I would have stopped listening a long time ago.

Having said that, I agree with George that something inspirational every now and then would be nice. I think the conscious decision taken almost from the start to keep a loose of rein on the forum probably explains why there is no overt Serotta "marketing via the forum" effort.

[verticaldoug]

I appreciate a great bike like most of you, but to me, the real dreaming is where to ride. This is what Rapha so clearly understands as their marketing hook.

I'd rather ride great terrain on an okay bike than okay terrain on a great bike.

[William]

It's a good idea.....but I would be surprised if it happened.


Only because since the forum was taken over from Kahuna (before 2004) Serotta proper hasn't really participated or taken advantage of the forum. There have been a few starts here and there but they all dropped off quickly. I appreciate Serotta sponsoring the forum over the years but their heart just doesn't seem to be into participating.






William

[e-RICHIE]

It's a good idea.....but I would be surprised if it happened.


Only because since the forum was taken over from Kahuna (before 2004) Serotta proper hasn't really participated or taken advantage of the forum. There have been a few starts here and there but they all dropped off quickly. I appreciate Serotta sponsoring the forum over the years but their heart just doesn't seem to be into participating.






William


^ ^ zen from william atmo.

ps

arrange disorder

:) :rolleyes: :)
:) :rolleyes: :)
:) :rolleyes: :)

[Gothard]

Their call, not mine.

I am not the first to suggest ideas to help them. Is this one a good one? Don't know, but in the lot are surely a few worthwile suggestions.

[SamIAm]

I appreciate a great bike like most of you, but to me, the real dreaming is where to ride. This is what Rapha so clearly understands as their marketing hook.

I'd rather ride great terrain on an okay bike than okay terrain on a great bike.

Great distinction, where is more important than what.

[zap]

Ben needs a camera and a studio and take photo's of cool kit and post it here.

Just post pics, words not necessary. Some of the builders over at Velocipede have me going back to see what's new.

All this traffic and no passion-no panache-nothing.

[Climb01742]

if you look at the 'smoked out' section across the hall, you see the power of putting a human face/voice to a bike. the recent smoking out of dario is a brilliant example.

image the stories, the insights, the humanity ben could bring to serotta. (sigh)

[SamIAm]

Their call, not mine.

I am not the first to suggest ideas to help them. Is this one a good one? Don't know, but in the lot are surely a few worthwile suggestions.

You are right, there have been many ideas floated here, some of them quite good in my opinion. I would kill for my customers to tell me how to better sell and market to them. Both sides of feedback are valuable, Why you bought and Why you didn't buy? Both have been offered here, but of course who can truly say that they are actionable in Serotta's present state.

Sometimes when a business is in trouble, you can sort of get into a bunker mentality where you close off such communication because you don't want to hear it. In my experience, you usually come to rely on the people who are telling you what you want to hear and this can often times be wrong headed.

[William]

Agree with Climb,

Even something as simple as a sticky that hi-lights a Serotta model with some good photos and a little verbage as to why it kicks A would be good....and cheap advertising. Change it each month to hi-light another model. It could even be locked as a "looksie" only.

But at this point it seems like a November-Gorkon going forward so it was what it was.





William

[FlashUNC]

I personally love seeing photos of stuff in process, and reading about the process itself. There are a few framebuilders I follow on Facebook who post "in process" shots of frames being built for clients, and that stuff is just plain cool.

And personally, the most fascinating cycling-related articles I've read recently were about Campagnolo's and Trek's manufacturing operations. (Both in Rouleur oddly enough.)

[RedRider]

[QUOTE=Gothard]

I would like to ask the good people hosting us to make us dream again:

This is a great idea and we actually have planned something similar. The Serotta blog, and linked to from this Forum, will chronicle the build process from fitting through delivery and probably additional feedback from the customer after logging some mileage.

What is so great about this Forum is the huge community of cycling enthusiasts that can exchange of ideas and opinions without restriction. This is something that is very unique in social networking and impossible to create as a corporate marketing tool.

I for one would love to see this done with a Pavé version, or (gasp!) a full Ti Legend.

The Pave is an option is available on the MeiVici, Ottrott and Legend. It provides greater stay clearance for wider tires and fenders.

the bike MUST be ridden and financially reachable, not pampered, and don't wax lyric over a 15K space shuttle...

The beauty of this Forum is that one member's space shuttle is another member's next bike.

Let's hope it does not grow into a 10 page epic. Please...

[rugbysecondrow]

Huh?

[QUOTE=Gothard]

I would like to ask the good people hosting us to make us dream again:

This is a great idea and we actually have planned something similar. The Serotta blog, and linked to from this Forum, will chronicle the build process from fitting through delivery and probably additional feedback from the customer after logging some mileage.

What is so great about this Forum is the huge community of cycling enthusiasts that can exchange of ideas and opinions without restriction. This is something that is very unique in social networking and impossible to create as a corporate marketing tool.

I for one would love to see this done with a Pavé version, or (gasp!) a full Ti Legend.

The Pave is an option is available on the MeiVici, Ottrott and Legend. It provides greater stay clearance for wider tires and fenders.

the bike MUST be ridden and financially reachable, not pampered, and don't wax lyric over a 15K space shuttle...

The beauty of this Forum is that one member's space shuttle is another member's next bike.

Let's hope it does not grow into a 10 page epic. Please...

[Louis]

Huh?


I think it's reasonable response from RR. (How's that for alliteration? :) ) Maybe not quite waxing poetic, but a start.

Nice that they're listening.

Louis

[e-RICHIE]

I think it's reasonable response from RR. (How's that for alliteration? :) ) Maybe not quite waxing poetic, but a start.

Nice that they're listening.

Louis
but how come he doesn't know how to use the Quote feature atmo?

ps

arrange disorder

:D :D :D
;) ;) ;)
:cool: :cool: :rolleyes:

[Louis]

but how come he doesn't know how to use the Quote feature atmo?

I find that it's a pain to create a bunch of multiple quotes in a single response, so he might know how to use it, but decided on a different format.

[zetroc]

I'd love to see some more accessibility with the brand. Photo tours, video interviews, print interviews, insider info, the whole nine yards.

[572cv]

the participants of this forum are a strong market opportunity (read: pre-qualified, brand sensitive, capable of only marginal self restraint-when-faced-with-beautiful-bike) for Serotta. Some of us have a Serotta and could have another. Some of us don't have a Serotta and need one. We're also willing, I think, to be testers for market approaches. We want you to succeed!

[rounder]

I used to work for a bank that (i believe) invented affinity marketing for the credit card business. I think the first group group targeted was Ducks Unlimited. If you signed up, you could get your credit card with a background picture of Ducks Unlimited. Later, the American Dental Association was added and then others. Eventually, you could get your college on your credit card. The cardholders loved it. The bank also loved it because the members were also able to pay off their credit card bills and, because the the cardholders were relatively affluent, losses were at a minimum compared to other banks in the industry. Not sure if that is what is going on here. But, if it is Serotta would be crazy not to capitalize on it. At the same time, we the Serotta customer base should insist on good customer treatment and a forum we can be proud of.

Sorry to rant.

[SupremeOverload]

There really are some good points to be made comparing this Forum to others. While it does present more allure and brand excitement than you can't get from something like Road Bike Review, it does not do nearly as good of a job as the VeloSalon. When I started looking for a new road bike almost a year ago I searched all the forums to see what could fill my needs. The VeloSalon does a great job of adding a special kind of appeal to the builders that sponsor it. Between the in process pictures and the smoking room, you really come away with a feeling of attachment. That is completely absent here. While this forum is more inviting for participation for a new cyclist, it does not focus on the attached brand as well as the VeloSalon.

[rugbysecondrow]

I think it's reasonable response from RR. (How's that for alliteration? :) ) Maybe not quite waxing poetic, but a start.

Nice that they're listening.

Louis

Looks like it is a copy and paste from Gothard, maybe I am missing something.

Regardless, the Serotta forum is the perfect infrastructure for the most direct form of communication and relationship building with past, current and future Serotta customers. It is astounding to me that they have not utilized it appropriately. Facebook has fan pages and business pages that put forth a ton of effort just to have half the audience the Serotta forum has. Look at Firefly blog, Carl Strongs blog... great example of building a customer connection. The Serotta forum has an audience, but a company that seems unwilling to want to engage in that sort of relationship with customers. Folks love it when Ben posts, so why not more often? Oddly enough, the put forth this effort with their Facebook page, just not here.

They have a captive audience and they have found a way to not use it.

Astounding.

[jds108]

Agree 100% with 'ya Rugby. It's really odd. Seems like this crowd is practically the old 'fish-in-a-barrel' for advertising. To generalize too much, we all have some level of connection to the brand and the cash to spend, at least when comparing this crowd to the more average person.

I don't hang out in bike shops and I don't get magazines, so my info either comes from someone on a group ride or over the 'net (much more of the latter). And I'm not going to bother using Facebook, so forget that.

Pics and a storyline are great. If Serotta posts it here, I'm definitely going to read it and take a close look at the eye candy. I hope they do something like this, because otherwise it's awfully difficult to justify to myself why I'd spend the big bucks for a new frame.

Looks like it is a copy and paste from Gothard, maybe I am missing something.

Regardless, the Serotta forum is the perfect infrastructure for the most direct form of communication and relationship building with past, current and future Serotta customers. It is astounding to me that they have not utilized it appropriately. Facebook has fan pages and business pages that put forth a ton of effort just to have half the audience the Serotta forum has. Look at Firefly blog, Carl Strongs blog... great example of building a customer connection. The Serotta forum has an audience, but a company that seems unwilling to want to engage in that sort of relationship with customers. Folks love it when Ben posts, so why not more often? Oddly enough, the put forth this effort with their Facebook page, just not here.

They have a captive audience and they have found a way to not use it.

Astounding.

[Louis]

Looks like it is a copy and paste from Gothard, maybe I am missing something.

Yes you are. Read it more carefully.

However, I agree with the overall point. They could be more imaginative in their use of the forum.

[rugbysecondrow]

Thanks, I see he changed it, made it easier for folks like me to read. :)

[Gothard]

Agree 100% with 'ya Rugby. It's really odd. Seems like this crowd is practically the old 'fish-in-a-barrel' for advertising. To generalize too much, we all have some level of connection to the brand and the cash to spend, at least when comparing this crowd to the more average person.


I for one certainly am not/don't. And before I would even consider the pricing, I'd need to be enticed. Again. Hence my idea.

A lot of people think this or that is stupid expensive, then convince themselves, or get convinced, through astute advertising/well done reporting and credible testing that such and such product is worth all the money being asked, even more. Quite a few brands come to mind.

Not so with Serotta. Not at this time.

(yes I know it is their forum and they are graciously hosting my diatribe, but sometimes love needs to be tough).